GRAND RAPIDS — In the battle for survival in the cut-throat retail world, Schuler Books & Music is coming out swinging oven mitts.

There are also scarves, kitchen utensils, board games, puzzles and dozens of other items meant to bring in shoppers looking for more than the printed word.

The company, one of the nation’s largest independent booksellers, also is embracing as a potential growth driver what some believed were an independent bookstore’s worst nightmare: electronic books, or eBooks.

Adapting and diversifying the 29-year-old business is one strategy that’s helping the five-store Grand Rapids-based chain stay healthy at a time when Ann Arbor-based Borders is in bankruptcy and Barnes & Noble has been put up for sale.

“It’s almost impossible to tell what the bookstore will look like in five years,” said Cecile Fehsenfeld, who co-founded Schuler with her husband, Bill. “I would like to think we are building a new model for what the next kind of bookstore might look like.”

Beth Boyink’s job as gift buyer for Schuler is finding items to lure shoppers who might not be looking for a book. The stores recently began carrying a variety of fair-trade craft items from Allendale-based Global Girlfriend alongside dozens of other items like Michigan-made puzzles, handmade coffee mugs and soothing heat-therapy pillows.

“We have to expand into areas that are reasonably compatible with books,” Boyink said. “The idea is to try to bring something unique.”

It appeared to be working one recent afternoon as shoppers like Bridget Perrigo, of Grand Rapids, searched for birthday presents in the gift section of the store at 2660 28th St. SE.

“I always come here — the gifts are so unique,” she said. “It’s great because they always have things that match the holidays, like St. Patrick’s Day and Valentine’s Day and others.”

“They have better selections of cards and gift items, and that’s mostly why I come here,” she said. “If I need books, I can buy them at the same time.”

Independent bookstores nationwide are embracing product diversification, according to the American Booksellers Association, of which Schuler is a member.

“Many members are doing whatever they need to do to maximize their margins — expanding beyond what was considered the traditional function of the bookstore,” said Meg Smith, the ABA’s membership and chief marketing officer.

The key is being nimble as the industry changes. In the ’90s, independents squared off with the growth of big chain stores. In the 2000s, online competition matured with some online outlets selling at a loss to grab market share.

“Stores that are surviving and people coming into the business are doing it in a very creative kind of way,” Smith said. “Some stores are selling items on consignment.”

Schuler hopes to increase sales of “sideline,” or gift items, by about 25 percent this year through improved marketing, selection and added floor space. By year’s end, gift items could account for 18 percent of sales. And, because the items generally carry larger profit margins, they add more to the bottom line.

But Schuler isn’t giving up on books. Books still make up 60 to 65 percent of total sales. If anything, the company is embracing the printed word with more gusto and in more formats than ever.

In December, Schuler joined a partnership between Google, book publishers and other independent bookstores that allows it to profit from the sale of Google eBooks from its website, SchulerBooks.com.

Google eBooks can be read on virtually every mainstream reader device except Amazon’s market-leading Kindle, which uses a proprietary format.

Each Schuler store now has a dedicated kiosk to walk customers through the process of purchasing an eBook online.

Unlike traditional new books — which Schuler still stocks by the thousands — the company makes commissions off the sale of eBooks, so it has no upfront inventory costs. Because prices are set by publishers, they are the same regardless of where a consumer makes a purchase. In the industry, that’s known as the agency model.

“One of the reasons publishers were convinced to go the way of the agency agreement when it comes to eBooks is they saw what happened to the music industry,” Fehsenfeld said. “They saw hardcover books could be sold online and really hurt brick-and-mortar stores, and they saw what happened to the music industry.”

Rex Larsen | The Grand Rapids PressOut of the ordinary: Charmaine Konyndyke, of Ada, browses a display of "women-made," "eco-friendly" and "fair trade" products. "They have unique gift items here, and I like their children's books," she said.

Fehsenfeld said the company is launching a marketing blitz designed to let people know they can still support their local bookstore and enjoy eBooks.

“It’s like there is a hump people need to get over to realize they can shop locally and buy an eBook from us for the same price,” she said.

On the opposite end of the technological spectrum, the company is increasing the amount of space it devotes to used books, a major growth area for the stores in recent years.

It’s also reducing the amount of space devoted to music — a reflection of a shift in buying patterns for many customers from CDs to digital outlets like iTunes.

“It’s going to be a big year,” Fehsenfeld said. “I think it’s going to help a lot if we can put some of these new pieces in place.”

The company’s cafes also continue to evolve, adding more unique, healthy and homemade selections to their menus. Fehsenfeld said she is considering adding beer and wine sales at additional locations after experimenting with them at the downtown Grand Rapids store since 2009.

Smith said Schuler, like other independent stores, needs to embrace its local roots and cater to local tastes in ways that big chains and websites can’t touch.

“Independents are able to change to the marketplace certainly more quickly,” she said. “They’re able to take advantage of their locations in communities, solidify ties to the community. That has really helped with members doing well.”